Rod Steiger
From Wikinfo
Rodney Stephen Steiger (April 14, 1925 - July 9, 2002) was an American actor.
He was born in Westhampton, New York and saw service during World War II, running away from home aged sixteen to join the US Navy. After the war, he returned to New Jersey and joined a drama group before studying drama full-time under Lee Strasberg and Elia Kazan at the Actors School.
Rod Steiger was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1954 for his role in the film, On the Waterfront. In 1965 he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his starring role in the The Pawnbroker and he won the best actor award two years later playing opposite Sidney Poitier in the role of Sheriff Bill Gillespie in Norman Jewison's acclaimed film, In the Heat of the Night.
During his career, Steigerappeared in over 100 films, including Academy Award-nominated roles in On the Waterfront (1954), The Pawnbroker (1965) and The Hurricane (1999). He turned down lead roles in Patton and The Godfather.
Rod Steiger passed away in 2002, and was interred in the Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.
External links
References
- Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "Rod_Steiger" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_Steiger, used under the GNU Free Documentation License
